Allston Development Monthly Update August 2025

Residential/Hotel 

The residential buildings (Verra) are opening. The midrise residential building is occupied with punch-list work being completed. Trotting Avenue is partially open onto Western Avenue. Preparations, inspections and some off-hour testing are underway for the high-rise residential building to open this month with tenants moving in. Curtainwall is finishing up at the hoist way. Boom lifts are operating. Utility tie-in and mechanical electrical and plumbing (MEP) work inside the site continues. Elevator installation and start up continues. Framing and bathrooms are being installed. Other interior fit-out work is underway. First floor storefront work is underway. Smaller concrete placements continue. Second and third shift work is taking place on the high-rise curtainwall. Second shift paver install work between the high rise and Treehouse is underway. Interior work may take place on the third shift.  

Laboratory and Office Buildings 

Boom and scissor lifts operate around the perimeter. Ground floor work is underway. MEP work continues.  Roofing activities continue. Elevators are being installed. Drywall and bathroom work is underway. Mechanical penthouse activities continue. Stone masonry work continues on the exterior. On the east and south sides of the site, hardscaping including paver and sidewalks installation and other landscaping work are taking place. 

Fiberoptic and Milestone Thermal Work 

Fiber-optic work continues intermittently.   

General Information  

• Project work hours are Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

• Saturday and some Sunday work will take place from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. 
• Second and third shift work is temporarily taking place for certain activities, especially between the high rise residential building and the Treehouse.
  • Drones will be in use every Thursdays at 3 p.m. to monitor construction progress. 
  • Drones will be operated by licensed pilots in accordance with Harvard University and the City of Boston regulations. 
• Flights are weather dependent. 
• Off-hour equipment drop-offs/pickups may be necessary with no unloading until 7 a.m.  
• Contractors and subcontractors are directed to have all trucks follow approved truck routes to/from the jobsite to ensure they are not traveling on neighborhood streets. A security officer has been monitoring truck routes at Cambridge and Windom/Seattle streets and at North Harvard Street for early hour concrete placements. 
• Construction noise will continue to be perceptible during work hours.  
• Dust control measures remain in place.     

North Allston Storm Drain Extension Project (NASDEP) 

NASDEP is a project for the Boston Water and Sewer Commission (BWSC) that is designed in collaboration with Harvard University to alleviate the existing inundated storm water systems in the North Allston neighborhood. The proposed modifications to the BWSC stormwater management system will significantly improve its performance by providing much needed additional conveyance capacity. The enabling work for the project began in 2021 and will continue through 2025. The increased capacity systems are designed to extend from the area south of the new Science and Engineering Complex (SEC), connecting to an existing stormwater drain system in Rena Park, routing through the ERC and following behind the National Resilience Inc. (formerly Sanofi/Genzyme) facility before crossing Soldiers Field Road to an outfall in the Charles River.  

• South of the Science and Engineering Complex (SEC) work between Rena Path and Rotterdam Street is finishing up.  
• Science Drive is narrowed with a new lane, line striping.  
• Inspections and backfilling will take place.  
• Some concrete placement occurs. 
• Construction noise continues to be intermittent with a generator and a staffer, motorized dewatering equipment operating 24 hours.  
• Project work hours will be Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. 
• The Bypass System will be removed after Boston Water and Sewer Commission approval. 

92 Seattle Street 

The building is occupied. Eversource is completing some work in the area. Exterior punch list work includes reinstalling some roofing and a wall at the eastern ramp.  

175 North Harvard Street/100 South Campus Drive/201 Western Avenue  

Harvard University is constructing a new home for the American Repertory Theater (ART) at 175 North Harvard Street and on the adjacent site at 100 South Campus Drive, a new Harvard University Affiliate Housing building for Harvard graduate students. 

• South Campus Drive, the one-way street from Western Avenue to North Harvard Street, will intermittently be closed this month with traffic directed to Ivy Lane. 
• MEP work is underway at both buildings.  
• Smaller concrete placements continue.   
• A crane is operating on the American Repertory Theatre (ART) site to support the installation of mass timber for the next few months. Daily wood deliveries are underway. A police detail is assigned to North Harvard Street/South Campus Drive to help facilitate mass timber trailer deliveries. Wood protection trades and mechanical systems and roof installation are underway as mass timber gets installed. Columns, beams, trusses, stairs, walls, roofs and flooring are being installed.   
• Concrete decking and roofing work follow the mass timber installation. 
• The brick façade is being installed on the residence building with prep work underway.  Mast-climber scaffolding, swing staging and boom lifts are being used for all façade work. Two cranes are operating. 
• Roofing work, window installation and interior fit-out work are underway. 
• The hoist (exterior elevator) on the residential building is operational.   
• Minor mock-up adjustments are ongoing across the street near Academic Way.  
• Trucks will adhere to the Harvard truck route and stage at Beacon Park Yard to avoid traffic congestion in and around the site.  
• The MBTA bus stop and Blue Bike station have been relocated to the McCurdy track side of South Campus Drive.  
• Lot expansion is complete at the 201 Western Avenue lot, where construction workers park and field offices are set up and in use. 
• Project work hours will be Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and some Sunday work will continue as permitted by the City of Boston, also from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.   

210 North Harvard Street 

• A pole and temporary cable will be removed by Eversource/Verizon. Sofra Bakery and Café is open. 

168 Western Avenue      

• The majority of the renovation work is complete. Swiss Bakers is operational in their new space.  National Grid will return to replace the asphalt with concrete on the Western Ave sidewalk.  Walking pads are being placed on the roof this month. 

100 Holton Street 

• Plans are underway for a roofing project in September.